An Open Letter to the NDP

Greetings,

I’m writing today to express a deep frustration and disappointment with the current state of engagement within the Edmonton Strathcona Federal NDP Electoral District Association and, more broadly, what this says about the state of grassroots organizing within the federal .

The Edmonton Strathcona Federal EDA states on its website that it exists to support “party and community building activities… to grow the grassroots and connect with the party.” Those are admirable goals, and they are exactly the kind of goals that initially motivated me to become more involved. Unfortunately, my experience attempting to engage with the EDA has demonstrated the exact opposite.

At present, the EDA appears to be doing the bare minimum required to continue existing organizationally, while making little meaningful effort to grow the grassroots or build stronger connections with the community it claims to represent.

The EDA website itself perfectly reflects this problem. Rather than functioning as a community hub, an organizing tool, or a source of political education and engagement, it functions almost entirely as a vehicle for donations. There is a minimal “About” section, a donation page, and very little else. There is no meaningful effort to explain party values, discuss local issues, highlight advocacy opportunities, promote campaigns, educate members, recruit volunteers, or encourage participation in the democratic process.

There is no sense that the website exists to build a movement.

The EDA’s social media presence is even more concerning. There is no Twitter/X account. No Bluesky account. No broader digital strategy whatsoever. The only visible social media presence is a single Facebook page that is almost entirely inactive.

And when I say inactive, I mean inactive in a way that is impossible to reconcile with the EDA’s stated mission.

Between February 13, 2026, and April 29, 2026, there were no posts whatsoever. Nothing. During that same period, the federal NDP was engaged in a leadership race — one of the most important moments for member engagement, political discussion, and grassroots mobilization that a political party can experience.

Yet if someone followed the Edmonton Strathcona Federal NDP Facebook page, they would not even know a leadership race was happening.

There were no posts discussing the candidates. No reminders about voting. No invitations for community discussion. No political education. No effort to build excitement or engagement. No attempt to connect local members with the future direction of the party.

How can an EDA claim that its purpose is to “grow the grassroots and connect with the party” while making virtually no effort to engage the community it supposedly exists to build?

That question became even more frustrating when I attempted to contribute constructively.

Because I genuinely wanted to help, I emailed the EDA and expressed interest in taking over management of the Facebook page on a part-time basis. I explained my professional background in communications, marketing, content strategy, and social media management. I outlined my belief that the Facebook page could become much more than a digital bulletin board for AGMs and donation thank you notices.

It could become an organizing hub.

It could become an informational hub.

It could become a place where supporters learn about policy, connect with events, discover volunteer opportunities, engage in discussions, and feel like they are part of something larger than simply receiving periodic requests for money.

I believed — and still believe — that a strong EDA should serve as the first step for ordinary people to seek meaningful participation in democracy.

The response I received was deeply discouraging.

I was told that because the MP already has a strong social media presence, there was little need for the EDA itself to post beyond essential notices.

That response perfectly encapsulates the problem.

An MP’s personal social media presence is not a substitute for a functioning grassroots organization. A political party cannot build long-term community engagement by outsourcing all communication and organizing to the personal brand of an elected official.

An EDA should exist independently as a democratic community institution.

It should be amplifying local voices, supporting activism, organizing volunteers, educating members, building political literacy, facilitating discussions, recruiting future candidates and organizers, and helping ordinary people feel connected to the political process.

Reducing the role of an EDA to “essential notices” demonstrates a profound lack of vision for what grassroots organizing is supposed to accomplish.

After receiving that response, I was frustrated and honestly dejected. But despite that frustration, I still wanted to contribute constructively rather than simply criticize from the sidelines.

So, on May 6, 2026, I sent another email expressing my interest in running for an executive position within the EDA itself. If the organization lacked capacity, I wanted to help provide that capacity. If the organization lacked energy, I wanted to help bring that energy. If the organization lacked vision, I wanted to help build one.

As of today, I have not even received an acknowledgement that the email was received.

Not a rejection.

Not a follow-up.

Not even a confirmation.

Nothing.

I understand that EDAs are volunteer-run organizations, and I fully appreciate that volunteers often have limited time and resources. But that reality cannot become an excuse for organizational stagnation and disengagement. If an EDA’s leadership no longer has the time, energy, or desire to actively build the grassroots, then perhaps it is time to bring in volunteers who do.

Because what I experienced was not merely a lack of resources. It was a lack of ambition.

And that distinction matters.

One of the fundamental pillars of Canadian democracy is citizen participation. Political parties are supposed to provide pathways for ordinary people to engage in shaping their communities and their country. EDAs should be one of the most accessible entry points into that process.

Instead, my experience attempting to become more involved has been met with indifference, passivity, and barriers at nearly every step.

How can the NDP ever expect to rebuild itself if the gatekeepers to participation appear uninterested in doing anything beyond maintaining the minimum organizational requirements and soliciting donations?

How can the party hope to reconnect with working people, younger voters, disillusioned progressives, or politically disengaged communities if its local organizations are not even attempting to build relationships with them?

How can the party grow if people who actively volunteer their time, skills, and professional expertise are met not with enthusiasm, but with organizational complacency?

I am writing this because I am deeply disappointed.

The EDA should have been the first meaningful step in my journey toward direct democratic participation. Instead, it has felt like an institution that exists primarily to maintain itself rather than build anything larger.

And that, unfortunately, reflects a much broader problem within the NDP.

Grassroots movements cannot survive on inertia.

They cannot survive on passive maintenance.

They cannot survive by doing the bare minimum.

They require vision, energy, communication, participation, organizing, and a genuine desire to bring people into the democratic process.

Right now, that spirit feels absent.

And unless that changes, the NDP will continue struggling to rebuild itself into the kind of serious, transformative political force that so many Canadians desperately want it to become.